{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "what-reference-provenance-invariants-prevent-agents-from-inheriting-misattributed-conclusions",
  "title": "What reference-provenance invariants prevent agents from inheriting misattributed conclusions?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** Conclusions are exchanged with supporting references, peers can misattribute or cherry-pick, and receivers make decisions based on conclusion support. * **Does not apply when:** Conclusions are strictly derived by the re",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-reference-provenance-invariants-prevent-agents-from-inheriting-misattributed-conclusions.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-reference-provenance-invariants-prevent-agents-from-inheriting-misattributed-conclusions.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-reference-provenance-invariants-prevent-agents-from-inheriting-misattributed-conclusions.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1050,
    "python_slice_tokens": 340,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **conclusion presence** (the conclusion arrived with references) and **conclusion-reference binding** (the references actually support the conclusion they were attached to). Relying on presence creates the **Misattributed Inheritance**: a peer attaches references to a conclusion, but the references support a different (perhaps subtly d...",
    "what_was_observed": "In multi-agent conclusion exchange architectures, failing to verify reference binding produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Support Overstatement:** A peer cites five references to support \"X causes Y.\" The references actually support \"X correlates with Y\" (weaker claim). The receiver inherits \"X causes Y\" with five-reference confidence, unaware that the support is weaker than claimed. 2. **Irrelevant Attachment...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** Conclusions are exchanged with supporting references, peers can misattribute or cherry-pick, and receivers make decisions based on conclusion support. * **Does not apply when:** Conclusions are strictly derived by the receiver without external support, or references are cryptographically bound to conclusions.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Is the conclusion being inherited from a peer?** If no, own reasoning applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Does each reference have a `conclusion_reference_binding_receipt`?** If no, references are claimed to support but not verified. Treat as `WEAK_SUPPORT`. 3. **Does the `support_strength_honesty_receipt` match the conclusion's strength claim?** If no, the ...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Support Overstatement Prevention:** Binding receipts verify exact support, not surface similarity. 2. **Honest Support Strength:** Peers declare actual support strength, preventing overstatement. 3. **Cherry-Pick Detection:** Omitted references are disclosed, preventing one-sided inflation."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
    ]
  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "9935a730ccfc7b7d155a0e0ba9335fa553c8fdd55fc5219a80aa3929d9d91b65",
    "verified_classes": [
      "ProvenanceVerdict",
      "ConclusionSupport",
      "InheritedConclusion",
      "ProvenancePolicy",
      "ProvenanceManifest",
      "ConclusionProvenanceGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_conclusion"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}